Transformational Leadership

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly” – Unknown

My leadership style has evolved through the years. At the start of my career, I was a task motivated transactional leader. I thought my role as a leader was to provide followers with the necessary resources to accomplish a task and clear instructions on how to go about doing so. Processes, systems and controls are a necessary aspect of management but what truly motivates a team to achieve great results is transformational leadership. Nahavandi (2012) notes, “Transactional contracts do not inspire followers to aim for excellence; rather, they focus on short-term and immediate outcomes. Long-term inspiration requires transformational leadership.” (p. 193). When undertaking change initiatives, a transformational leadership approach is the only way to inspire followers long enough to change the existing state of affairs to propel the new order .What exactly is transformational leadership? I have learned through my leadership training and experience that transformational leadership consists of being an authentic leader, inspiring followers to see your vision, and forming effective team collaborations that increase performance and ignite the creative energy necessary to channel innovative ideas.

Characteristics of an Authentic Leader

“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office” – Dwight David Eisenhower

Authentic leaders have integrity and are genuine individuals.Nahavandi (2012) writes,” Authentic leaders are people who know themselves well and remain true to their values and beliefs” (p.198). Authentic leaders understand their purpose, allow their personal values to guide their decisions, and exhibit self-discipline. Their actions and their words are in alignment. They “walk the walk” and not just “talk the talk”. Followers are drawn to leaders who are real, lead with passion, and operate from a place of moral righteousness. When followers see and sense a leader is genuine, a connection is established. This is how follower loyalty is earned.

Vision: The Key to Organizational Change

“If you can dream it, you can do it” – Walt Disney

Creating a vision and inspiring followers to see and buy into your vision is the key to organizational change. I learned how vital this was to bring about change when I turned around a failing real estate franchise early in my career. I had to obtain buy-in from the franchise executives, the vendors, and the remaining sales team.

One of the key roles of leaders is to guide followers through organizational change. During transformational change, effective leaders provide a vision to followers to help them formulate a picture, in their minds eye, of the new direction in which they will drive the organization. Nahavandi (2012) writes, “…providing a vision and inspiring followers are the most important functions of leaders during change…the leaders vision is vital to creating change” (p. 290, 291).

In short, vision is the act of a leader seeing the future the way he or she would like it to come to fruition. Bateman and Snell (2007) write, ” A leader can create a vision that creates high performance aspirations, the nature of corporate or business strategy , or even the kind of workplace worth building” (p. 395).

Enhance Performance Through Team Synergy

“Teamwork makes the dream work” – Bang Gae

Creating synergistic team collaborations has been the catalyst to my professional and academic accomplishments. When working effectively, a team develops synergy which enhances performance exponentially. To achieve this enhanced state of productivity each member must bring to the table complementary expertise in addition to interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. Characteristics of an effective team include commitment to the team vision, common goals and objectives, clearly defined membership roles, and collaboration and cooperation among members. Additionally, an effective team requires resources to complete the project as well as trust in one another and in their leader.To summarize the effective team, Bateman and Snell (2007) write, “A real team is formed of people (usually a small number) with complementary skills who trust one another and are committed to a common purpose, common performance goals, and a common approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable” (p.461).

A team charter is the foundation of a high performing team. It is a document that is developed by the group that clarifies team direction while establishing boundaries. It is developed in the forming stage of the team.Bateman and Snell (2007) note, ” The best teams…discuss and agree upon such things as how tasks and roles will be allocated and how they will make decisions…with a clear, strong, motivating purpose and effective performance strategies, people will pull together into a powerful force that has a chance to achieve extraordinary things” (p. 467,468).

A team charter provides the framework for developing project purpose, membership roles, goals, objectives, performance standards and action plans that will assist the team in reaching its desired outcomes while minimizing conflict. According to Trillium Teams,” A team charter is a simple document which outlines the purpose and goals of the team. The process of creating this together is a great team building tool. This will compel everyone to clarify team norms, roles and responsibilities, escalation methods, etc. As well, the charter provides a written document everyone can refer to, especially new members of the team. Keep in mind, the team charter does not have to be a massive undertaking. It can be as simple as two pages, the key is to make sure everyone has had input and it remains a living document.”